Click album covers for links. Feel free to share your opinions on these albums and keep in mind that what I write are merely my thoughts and feelings and I do not expect them to be shared.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Jesu - Infinity (2009)


This album is one 49 and a half minute song, which is not atypical of this type of music, but can be a bit exhausting. It shifts seamlessly between somber ambient parts and droning guitars with vocals every now and then. Overall it's a relatively depressing listen, but is quite interesting. I don't see myself listening to this in its entirety very often, but in parts it's great. I think this is the musical equivalent of a scene like that on the album cover. His last album "Conqueror" (2007) is a bit more accessible, mainly due to length, but musically they seem very similar.

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Sunday, December 20, 2009

An Horse - Rearrange Beds (2009)


Until I can catch up, here's something I've enjoyed recently. Finals are almost over and I'll get back into this for new releases that come out in the new year.

This is kinda like Mates of State's Rearrange Us (2008). Female fronted, catchy-as-hell pop music. This isn't quite that sweet and sugary though. I think it's comparable in quality. The lyrics seem a bit more intelligent, and the vocals are somewhere in the middle ground between Tegan & Sara's style and the super sweet vocals of the likes of Camera Obscura. The singer (apologies, dont know her name) doesn't seem to be trying to make her voice sound all that "good." She sounds great, but not as though she's trying too hard, which is good. Musically, this is pretty basic. Mid-tempo backdrops for the vocals, which are the main focus of the album, and it works.

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Friday, December 11, 2009

The Duke & The King - Nothing Gold Can Stay (2009)


The Duke and the King, not to be confused with The Duchess and the Duke (who released a very good album two months ago) are the side project of Simone Felice, from The Felice Brothers. Simone is The Felice Brothers’ drummer, who sings lead on a few tracks, and has a soulful tenor that pales in comparison to his brother’s gritty, Bob Dylan-esque croon. The Felice Brothers are more suited to that style, so when Simone sings lead, it often sounds a bit less inspired. On this project, he really steps up though, in my opinion. I think this is because he has more lively music backing him, and shares vocal duties with his band members. Check out “Still Remember Love” for some great vocal harmonies. This is still very much grounded in the folk aesthetic, but it actually sounds nothing like The Felice Brothers. Whereas The Felice Brothers sound like they’re coming right out of the small Catskill Mountain town where they formed, The Duke and the King are a bit closer to your local coffee shops. It still has that folk feel to the music, in the lyrics, instrumentation, and general attitude and presentation. Compared to Simone’s day job, I think this is a bit more accessible, even to folks who may not gravitate towards rural sounding music. On their myspace they describe themselves as a glam-soul-folk quartet. Indeed, elements of soul can be heard, mainly in the vocals, but I have no idea where the glam comes from.

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Thursday, December 3, 2009

Fossil - Insonia (2009)


This is a good instrumental post-rock album. It’s their only album so far, and it does have a couple of flaws. For one, it’s a lot of loud-quiet-loud, which isn’t a terrible thing, but coupled with their relative lack of variety, the music does wind up sound a bit formulaic. That doesn’t mean it isn’t an enjoyable listen; most post-rock bands, as long as they can stretch some pretty notes out for seven-plus minutes, manage to at least be pleasant, if not mind blowing. Fossil is worth a listen if you like instrumental music, but don’t expect to hear anything you haven’t heard many times before. Potential is there.


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